Vacuum Cleaners Discussions

I was surprised to learn that my Miele canister is made in China.  I have the Miele Plus.  I was looking at the sticker on the machine after awesome cleaning session with Mr. Miele and noticed in very small letters that it is made in China.... but some of the components come from Germany and others come from China.  Are any Mieles made in Germany, or is that just where the company is headquartered?  I don't love the vacuum any less, just thought that was interesting.  Maybe things made in Germany aren't that great anyway... .My Rowenta Surflline iron has been a disappointment for quite some time!

Hello Carmine, a good explaination of world economics, thank you.

On a general point (to all participants) is it still at all reasonable to say that the majority of high value products made in the Far East are poor quality and / or unreliable? This was certainly said in the 1970s, when the west had a booming, home grown automotive trade and, yes, the new entrants took a while to get going, but they soon learnt to overcome the arrogance of the western manufacturers and in turn, the trade unions.

If a company had a good reputation for quality / innovation and gives the buyer what they want, that's good enough for me, no matter where they might be based. The 'warm glow' gained from holding a product made / screwed together in the west wouldn't count for much, with many, if it was also sub-standard / poor value for money.

Sure, there might be a local / national economic benefit for supporting 'one of your own' in your choice of purchases, but there will be a breaking point where you're asking someone to put far too much value on where it is made, for the direct benefit they are getting

One additional thought, I think a lot of confusion still surrounds and where product design and manufacturing takes place these days.

At one time, the design and production faculty needed to be under the same roof, for efficiency. Technology has changed this. Big time.

In the UK, we have a vastly reduced share of mass market automobile production, but we are still highly competitive when it come to the calibre of vehicle design graduates. This means that a lot of high value-added, low unit work can be done here for the likes of Mclaren, but also on designs for mass-market vehicles that will be manufactured wherever it makes sense in terms of cost / geographic location. The blur between where something is assembled and 'made' has never been greater.

You can also take the above example and apply it to the pharmaceutical industry in the west, which, after the costs for R&D / clinical trials are considered, can have a very high added value from a patent and hence will most often manufacture locally, because there is next to no benefit from having these products made elsewhere.

Thank you M00seUK:

I used the "junkie" and "drug dealer" analogy for a reason.  Junkies are dependent on their dealers.  Dealers have the final control.  What if the dealers dump the junkies?  Or worse insist on higher prices?  With this control and power comes the ability to cheapen product and charge the same/more.  Especially later down the road when the junkie [country's economy] is in real trouble and can't find other buyers [dealers] of our debt.  Greece is a good example.  Greece is at the mercy of the EU for a bailout and its survival as a nation.  What's to stop China from dictating to US and EU countries if these countries need China to continue to buy their debt?

It's a slippery slope.  There's no worry when there are buyers for US/EU debt.  What happens when the buyers dry up and/or insist on higher yields.  The pressure will only mount. 

Carmine D.

PS: $54 BILLION in USA taxpayer funds went to the IMF [International Monetary Fund] to bailout Greece.  It's my taxpayer money but I didn't give the approval for this funding.  Quite the opposite, I would have declined.  Why should I pay for years and years of the Greek's liberal government entitlement programs.